TWBCB 18

Chapter : 18

The next morning.

Sa-eon was startled to realize that he had slept deeply—without pain.

Last night had clearly been the night of the full moon, when yin energy was strongest during the month.

And yet, he had slept soundly without even the smallest nightmare.

Then he noticed a small pebble placed on top of his desk.

“Miss Cottonball left it behind. She said it’s a charm to drive away ghosts.”

“Ghosts?”

Sa-eon echoed in confusion at the sudden mention of ghosts.

Jeok-yeong then relayed the conversation that had taken place between Soya and Gayul.

“So Cottonball brought this to protect me?”

Sa-eon let out a small laugh as he picked up the stone.

Now that he knew the full story, the ordinary-looking pebble seemed unusually smooth and even pretty.

“Hm. Considering I didn’t have any nightmares all night, maybe it really does work…”

More than that, the thought that such a tiny body had tried to protect him made him feel oddly touched.

“Cute.”

He muttered to himself, rubbing at the corners of his lips that had curved upward without him noticing.

“Since you received such a thoughtful gift, wouldn’t it be nice to return the favor?”

“You’ve offered a decent suggestion for once.”

Sa-eon pondered what kind of gift would suit Soya.

“Wasn’t there a sword His Majesty bestowed upon me last winter? I have no need for it—perhaps I could give her that—”

“Oh dear, Master! Perhaps the young tiger lords would appreciate that, but girls her age don’t like such things.”

“Tsk. How narrow-minded. Abandon the prejudice that girls wouldn’t like swords.”

“But that’s a real blade! It’s heavy and sharp! What if Miss Cottonball hurts herself while playing with it? Ordinary beastfolk don’t have thick hides like tigers!”

At that, Sa-eon paused. It was a fair point.

“Soya getting hurt? That absolutely won’t do.”

He groaned softly, frowning as he fell into deep contemplation.

In the southern part of the Empire — the Land of the Vermilion Bird.

Lili’s laughter rang out brightly.

Jeok A-yoon watched her running about in excitement with a gentle smile on his face.

Lili had seemed especially cheerful these past few days.

And when Lili was in good spirits, Jeok A-yoon found himself feeling lighter as well.

That’s a relief. I was worried she might have been hurt by that incident.

Lili learning Soya’s secret had not been intentional.

Perhaps it had been wrong from the start to try to keep that matter hidden.

Fortunately, Lili had quickly shaken off her sadness and returned to her bright self.

He was spending pleasant time with her when Jeok Hwa-yu came to see him.

“Father, there is something I must tell you.”

“What is it?”

Jeok A-yoon raised one eyebrow, his irritation clear at having his time with Lili interrupted.

“Could we speak elsewhere?”

He had been about to tell him to speak right there, but his son’s expression was unusual.

So Jeok A-yoon left Lili behind and followed him.

Jeok Hwa-yu hesitated, struggling to open his mouth before finally speaking.

“The child… has died.”

“…What?”

Jeok A-yoon’s face stiffened instantly.

For a brief moment, he stood there blankly, unable to comprehend his son’s words.

In the cold silence, he gradually realized that “the child” Hwa-yu referred to was none other than Soya.

“I intended to give her enough wealth and send her far away. If she remained here, Lili would suffer.”

“…”

It was true. Jeok Hwa-yu had never intended to kill her.

He had only meant to give her enough to live modestly somewhere far from here.

“But when the Samjok-o arrived, the child was gone. Only bloodstains remained.”

“…”

Jeok A-yoon pressed his lips tightly together, his face devoid of expression.

“This was found at the scene.”

Jeok Hwa-yu held out a small pouch.

Jeok A-yoon’s fingertips trembled faintly.

This pouch…

He had personally sewn it onto the child’s jeogori on the morning of Soya’s sixth birthday.

“Father, will Soya be able to do it? What if I fail? What if I can’t become a magnificent firebird like you and my brothers…?”

“Don’t worry, Soya. So what if you fail? It doesn’t change the fact that you are my daughter.”

“But…”

“It’s alright even if you’re a little slow. If you fail today, you can try again tomorrow. And if you fail tomorrow, there’s always the next day. So don’t be too nervous—just do your best.”

He remembered the anxious voice of the child who had feared failing to transform into her beast form.

Contrary to her worries, she had transformed perfectly.

If only she had failed.

If only he had never seen her in that transformed state.

Would something have changed?

Jeok A-yoon carefully opened the bloodstained pouch.

Inside—

“Ah…”

A short breath escaped him.

A red feather.

Once, the child had picked up one of his fallen feathers and asked if she could keep it.

When he told her to do as she pleased, she had smiled shyly and clutched it tightly in her hand.

“…She kept this all this time.”

Thinking that she had brought this with her on the day she left the estate made his chest tighten strangely.

He had loved his wife dearly.

And he had loved the youngest daughter she bore at the cost of her life.

Everyone had suspected his wife’s infidelity when they saw that Soya resembled neither of them.

But he never listened.

He had fed her with his own hands, clothed her, put her to sleep—giving her the greatest love he could.

He had held her so often that she learned to walk later than other children, because he hardly ever let her feet touch the ground.

Then he learned that Soya was not his daughter.

It felt as though the world he had believed in had collapsed.

The child his wife had died to give birth to… was not his.

The woman he loved had deceived him and borne another man’s child?

It was horrifying. And humiliating.

Unable to bear facing it, he ordered her spiritual core removed.

He could not endure looking at a child who bore none of the traits of the Vermilion Bird.

Though he knew the child was innocent, he resented her.

If only it weren’t for Soya… if only not for that child…

His wife would not have died. Their family would not have shattered.

Soya was the root of all tragedy.

He suffered so deeply that he even regretted having held and raised her with his own hands, believing her to be his.

For the three years after sending her to the Cold Palace and abandoning her, he had not been in his right mind for a single moment.

Though known as the Sage of the South, he spent each night drinking himself senseless, reduced to a madman’s state.

It was only thanks to Hwa-yu, who took over the family in place of his deranged father, that the clan remained steady.

Then Lili appeared.

Proof that he had not been wrong. That his wife had never been unfaithful.

Through Lili, he was validated—and overjoyed.

Jeok A-yoon vowed to give the world to his true daughter, who had wandered outside until the age of nine.

At that time, his entire attention was fixed on Lili. His thoughts never reached Soya, who had been neglected for three years while he had been out of his mind.

When he saw Soya again after three years—at Lili’s insistence—only then did he become newly aware of her existence.

But he turned away from her once more.

Pitiful, yet resentful—he ignored her even more, almost as if compensating Lili.

He believed it was something he must do for Lili’s sake.

However—

He had never wished for the child to die.

Hwa-yu said they had not even found her body.

Jeok A-yoon slowly closed and opened his eyes before speaking in a low voice.

“Find the child.”

“But Father—!”

“You said there was no body.”

“Even if she did not die, she will not live long. Because…”

Jeok Hwa-yu clenched his fist tightly, as though the words were too dreadful to say.

“Her spiritual core was already badly damaged.”

When he went to return the core taken three years ago, he had discovered that Soya’s core—neglected for so long—was ruined.

A beastfolk with a damaged spiritual core does not live long.

So, using the summer festival as an excuse, he left her outside the estate and ordered the Samjok-o:

Take the child who would be left alone outside the manor. Go far away. Care for her.

Until the day her breathing stops.

“…”

Jeok A-yoon gazed silently at his son, his eyes unreadable.

After a long while—

He finally spoke, as though forcing open lips that would never move again.

“…Then bring me the body, at least. Only then will I be able to believe it.”

“To believe… her death.”